This tiny world of mine has been busy! I want to thank each and every one of you for making it that way. I have some wonderful news to announce concerning the new titles that will be released this year.

Colts, Cadillacs & Consequences is where I’m spending most of my time these days. I can sincerely say it is the best thing I’ve ever put on paper. We join the world of the notorious Dawson family, and try to keep a handle on our britches. There will be plenty of action and adventure in this novel. I can go on the record here and say—There will be many more of these books in the works.

Delta number three is titled Colbert County Come Apart. There are some major twists and turns, but we see our favorite characters hitting some major milestones in their personal lives. Another fabulous thing I can announce excites even me! All of y’all Delta fans will be able to read the companion novel with the release of book three. There will be a map of Leighton, character lists, Saddie’s recipes, and even a novella featuring Delta, Dusty and Saddie as teenagers. I can’t spoil anything else, but there will be even more features included. The best part of the companion novel happens to be the money saving! With each and every new Delta book, there will be a file update sent out through Amazon. You only have to buy the book once. Anything added like characters and new recipes, will be sent to you as a file update.

I have a reader very dear to my heart that made my entire week. I was pulverized by a reviewer on Amazon. I won’t go into details, but it was particularly nasty and spiteful. I went into shutdown mode and didn’t write for two days. Low and behold, I get a comment on my Facebook page that says Delta is keeping them awake at night! You all mean the world to me and make what I’m doing worth it! I couldn’t do it without all of you. I’ll keep you updated on all these goodies. Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog.

Last year, I accomplished fairly half of what I wanted to. I’m still proud of what I put out there for y’all to read. It may not have been the best, but I can assure you, at that time it was my best. Looking back on what I wrote, I can tell a big improvement. I think Colts, Cadillacs & Consequences is the best thing I’ve ever put on paper. When I write something from the Delta Grayson series, I have to think on every detail. Every sentence hooks together and means something. With C,C&C I’m having fun not worrying about technology (cell phones, computers, etc..) putting a major loophole in the plot. I look forward to the finished manuscript and being able to share it with all of you.

Delta #3 is slowly but surely coming together. I have a title and roughly half of the major plot. Some of the reviews for Main Street Misfire stated that I really kicked it up a notch. For those readers that e-mailed me and bragged on it… Thank You!

What I really wanted to talk about has to do with all the amazing authors I discovered in 2011. Believe it or not, I had never read any Dan Simmons or Robert McCammon! I know! Shame on me! The two books that ruined my writing days were Summer of Night and Boy’s Life. I couldn’t put these down. My family didn’t even see me for days at a time! Another author I discovered—Jonathan Maberry. If you haven’t read Ghost Road Blues, quit depriving yourself!

Who did you discovered in 2011? What books did you read that you can actually remember characters and plots? Those, my friends, are the ones that stay with you forever..

For all of you awaiting the second installment of Miss Delta Grayson, it’s a comin’ faster than I can stop it! All that’s left to do is polish the ending, and send it off to the coder.

Main Street Misfire will solve many questions for our vigilante. I look forward to y’all reading it, and seeing the reactions to the newest Mystery.

Jackie fans will have a quick fix. The short story Cotton & Corruption will be featured in Dew on the Kudzu January 26th.

This year will be a busy one. In 2012 I plan on spoiling you readers rotten! Expect Main Street Misfire first. Colts, Cadillacs & Consequences will be released in late Spring. I’m still not sure about releasing a book of short stories. It would include my first published works, and stories I’ve dabbled with for quite some time. Let me know your opinions. If this is something you think you’d enjoy, I can work on putting them together, and asking the always awesome Inkslinger Designs to start working on a cover. Besides that I know for certain another title will be released in 2012. It’s brand new, but I think all of you will enjoy the main protagonist Harley Owen. I’m still iffy on the title so I don’t want to set it in stone, but it will be a Southern Gothic style novel set in everyone’s favorite small town.

I want to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail with thoughts and concerns.

I know, I know—Small Town Unwound isn’t available in the Kindle store at the moment. It’s being shuffled through hands in various places. I’m not sure what will come from it, but keep your fingers crossed that Miss Delta Grayson will be able to catch attention from the likes of the head honchos.

For those of you who enjoyed the first book in the series, I’m currently swamped with the second one. Lord willing, and the creek doesn’t drown my ass—Downtown Derailed will be ready for release by the new year. I don’t want to give much away, but any questions left unanswered are revealed, and Delta is hit with a whole new set of challenges. I know there are some Jackie Dawson fans out there, and let me emphasize that you won’t be disappointed. I’ve got a fresh handle on Colts, Cadillacs & Consequences. Not to mention a new writing endeavor that is different from anything I’ve ever done. All these things are in the works, and I’ll keep you updated on any short stories being published. Subscribe to the blog, all you have to do is enter your e-mail address over on the right corner of the page.

Now, on to a question I get asked that I’m not really sure how to answer.

Where do you get your ideas?

My advice and honest answer—life. Ideas come from every outlet imaginable. Taxidermy: Death Times Two came from a random conversation I was having with a friend. I had an old, grouchy yellow Lab that would let me get robbed blind, but would bark at absolutely nothing for the sheer hell of it. My friend looked at me and said, “When Honey dies she’s still gonna bark and drive you crazy.” To this day, I don’t know why I associated stuffed animals coming back to reek havoc on a small town in Louisiana with those words. As soon as I heard that sentence, I had the main idea for the story. A month later it was published in New Voices.

To be a writer, you must have a warped perception of reality. Anyone can think of a story, but it takes a strange dedication to put it on paper. Always ask ‘What if’? That question can take you to a world of possibilities.

Another thing I want to stress… It’s okay to not have twenty ideas written on a notepad. It took me a long time to understand this one in particular. The worst thing to do is force an idea that isn’t ready. I’ve written quite a few crappy stories this way. The good ideas always find a way to manifest. Sometimes they just need to simmer in your subconscious.

If you’re stuck for ideas, don’t immediately start crying over a writer’s block. If that blank page keeps looking naked, simply turn the computer off. Use your designated writing time to read something you wouldn’t normally pick up. Get outside and people watch with a cup of coffee. People do some funny things when they think the coast is clear. Let your brain relax, forget about writing! When you have a free mind that isn’t stressed—ideas will come.

As a small child, I realized I had a deep love for anything and everything Auburn. My father takes the blame when he encouraged me to carry around a porcelain Wise Man doll from a Nativity scene, because I was convinced (since he wore blue) it happened to be Bo Jackson.

The 2010 Auburn Tigers made me laugh, made me scream, and made me cry. Sometimes all in the same game. Not to mention the comradery between the fellow Auburn fans tightened like barbed-wire. I can’t tell you how many times I was cut off in a turning lane only to realize the insane driver was a fellow Auburn fan. I’d wave instead of using my finger. We’d all shout ‘War Eagle’ to one another in Walmart from two isles away. Each one of us wearing smiles to our ears. For the first time since I can remember, Auburn fans didn’t back down for fear of being outnumbered by our Crimson Tide counterparts. We were united like a tight knit family.

Who would jump when Cam forced himself through four men who tried to brutally hold him down? I cried when Nick Fairley decided he’d had enough and started power slamming any player that got in his way during the Alabama game. In 2010 none of us gave up. Even when we had minutes to spare, we held out breaths in unison, and cheered our boys right into the Nation Championship. All of us lived through Auburn football history. Even though I’m going to miss all of the Seniors that were drafted into the NFL along with the ones who graduated, I’m begging all Auburn fans… Lets have a season like 2010? Lets cheer at replays, honk at Tiger tails hanging out of car trunks, and wear our lucky jerseys even when it’s not Saturday.

In my personal opinion, this short story collection (they all tie in together) is a welcome to the hardboiled, noir genre. The author, Phoenix has a vast imagination that never seems to end. This book features Brick Stone, PI, and as a lead character, he is strong and relentless. All of us have our flaws, turns out Brick has some issues with the ladies. He can’t seem to tell them no, but it makes him all the more loveable.

The writing is strong, with little to no errors in the book. The overall format was wonderful. No jumbled words, no consecutive run on sentences. Although, I would have liked an in depth description of Brick. I don’t think that’s an error on the author’s part, though, because after all, this is filled with short stories.

Phoenix connects the crime genre to the fantasy one effortlessly. Not one time did I think the writing was hokey or just ‘too much.’

I would certainly read more by the author. I hope a Brick Stone (standard issue) complete novel is released.